One Good Thing About Snow in April: It Doesn't Usually Last Too Long

The Day The Temperature Rose 103 Degrees

Rounds of snow will continue to fall across the northern tier of the U.S. through early April, but there is some good news regarding April snow: It typically doesn't last long.

(MORE: Winter Storm Central)

Spring snow isn't unusual for much of the U.S., especially in the higher elevations and toward the Canadian border, but it is more difficult to have the right combination of ingredients to come together to allow snow to remain on the ground for long periods of time.  

The images below highlight one recent example. The first image is from early on April 2, 2018, when several inches of snow was on the ground in a stripe from Nebraska to western Pennsylvania. The second image depicts the snow depth on April 4, 2018, showing that much of the snow from that stripe is no around.

The higher sun angle and the increase in solar radiatio makes it easier for snow to melt, or sublimate. 

After the spring equinox, the Northern Hemisphere becomes more tilted toward the sun and consequently receives more direct rays of sunlight than in the winter. In addition, there are more hours of daylight in the spring than the winter.

This also results in warmer temperatures, which reduces the chance of having the cold temperatures necessary for snow to form and remain on the ground.

For example, the average high in New York City is in the upper 30s in mid-January and in the mid 50s in early April. Low temperatures in New York City also rise from the mid 20s in January to around 40 degrees at the beginning of April.

Indianapolis also sees a similar rise in high temperatures and low temperatures average around 20 degrees in mid-January and the upper 30s in early April.

(MORE: April Temperature Outlook)

Temperatures have generally been colder than average from the northern Rockies to the Plains and Midwest so far in April. On Wednesday, temperatures were chilly in Iowa, but Des Moines saw temperatures rise to 39 degrees. This melted the snow cross the area.

Even though temperatures were almost 20 degrees below average, the sun angle and the above-freezing temperatures were enough for some of the snow cover to quickly disappear.

This is good news for those across the northern tier of the U.S. tired of winter and because, yes, more snow is possible into next week.